Shoes,especially for children

ABSTRACT

A shoe of the opening type, especially for children, comprises a first sole and a top composed of two parts made in a single piece, namely an upper and a heel-piece, the latter being constituted by two separate portions independent of each other: a front portion adjacent to the upper and a rear portion opening at the entry of the shoe, fixed to the base of a stiffening formed by the extension of said first sole.

United States Patent Bidegain [54] SHOES, ESPECIALLY FOR CHILDREN 7 [72]Inventor: Georges Clement Bidegain, .Pau,

France [73] Assignee: Bidegain S.A.', Pau, France [22] Filed: Dec. 3,1970 [21] Appl. No.: 94,733

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data May 22, 1970 52 US. Cl. ..36/2.51: 51 1m, (:1. ...A43b 00/00 [58] Field 61 Search ..36/8.2, 2.5 R, 2.5E, 2.5 F, 36/1l.5, 11

[ 56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,114,435 10/1914 Batten..36/8.2X

France ..7018697- 1 1 Aug. 8, 1972 2,619,744 12/1952. Mattes ..36/2.5F3,134,179 5/1964 Laharn ..36/2.5E

Primary Examiner-Patrick D. Lawson Attorney-Young & Thompson 57 ABSTRACTA shoe of the opening type, especially for children,

comprises a first sole and a top composed of two parts made in a singlepiece, namely an upper and a heelpiece, the latter being constituted bytwo separate portions independent of each other: a front portionadjacent to the upper and a rear portion opening at the entry of theshoe, fixed to the base of a stiffening formed by the extension of saidfirst sole.

6 Claim, 7 Drawing Figures PATENTED AUG a 1972 SHEET 2 BF 2 GEORGESCAE/ME/VT fi/psam/v SHOES, ESPECIALLY FOR CHILDREN The present inventionis generally concerned with footwear, especially for children, and inparticular footwear of the type which can be widely opened to facilitateengagement of the foot.

It has already been proposed to separate completely In the case ofwalking shoes, especially with a stiff I sole, the preceding arrangementdoes not give complete satisfaction and in particular it results in arapid deterioration of the sole.

Shoes have also been proposed which open by opening the sole at itsmiddle, but this results in fragility of the sole underneath the plantararch.

The present inventionhas for its object a shoe, especially for children,which is free from these disadvantages and which enables the shoes to beput easily on the childs feet, at the same time being of simple androbust construction.

The shoe of the opening type forming the subject of the invention ischaracterized in that the upper part of the shoe is in a single piecefixed to the sole, with the exception of a rear portion which is adaptedto swing towards the rear by pivoting about the bottom rear extremity ofthe shoe, forming a pivotal axis, the said rear portion having removableretaining means on the front of the shoe.

The rear portion is preferably fixed to an extension of the first soleto the rear of the shoe and it comprises two lateral wings of the shoeadapted to beheld on the front of the shoe in order to ensure itsclosure;

The main advantage of such an arrangement is that when the shoe is onceopen, it has the general shape of a Turkish slipper which permits easyintroduction of the childs foot.

After introduction, the rear portion of the shoe is lifted, the foot isheld inside the shoe in such manner that it cannot slip, by folding backthe lateral wings of this rear portion on the upper, after which thewings are assembled together on the top of the upper.

In the part of the shoe which corresponds to the plantar arch of thefoot is provided a domed or raised internal support adapted to providean elastic and flexible support for the plantar arch. This internalsupport is not liable to be deformed or damaged during the swingingmovement, since this does not take place at the level of the front ofthe instep but at the level of the rear side of the heel-piece.

According to an alternative form of the invention, the shoe comprises asecond sole and a heel, the second sole being extended to the rear andforming a raised portion which partially extends over the height of thestiffening.

The shoes according to the invention may be provided with differentmeans of closure by assembly of the lateral wings, for example by meansof laces, fixing straps and buckles or fixing straps and false buckleswith press-studs, etc.

The characteristics and advantages of the invention will furthermore bebrought out in the description which follows below, given by way ofexample,

reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a shoe according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a similar view of the same shoe ready for introduction of thefoot;

FIG. 3 is a view in cross-section taken along the line III-Ill of FIG.2;

FIG. 4 is a partial view in perspective of the shoe, showing theinternal support;

2 FIG. 5 is a view of a shoe with a buckle and fixing strap;

FIGS. 6 and 7 show a shoe with a closure comprising a false buckle and apress-stud.

- In the form of construction chosen and shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, whichconcerns the right foot of a pair of childrens shoes, there is seen inFIG.' 1 a shoe 1 of leather or other material formed by an under portionconsisting ofa first sole-2 and a top comprising two portions, a frontportion 3 and a rear portion 4. The rear portion 4, fixed to the base 5of the stiffening 6 of the shoe, is provided with two lateral wings 7,preferably substantially equal (see FIG. 2), and which are cut out so asto partially cover the upper 3 of the shoe 1, as shown. in FIG. 1. Theabove wings are held assembled together in this position by means of alacing 8.

FIG. 3 shows thebottom rear extremity of the shoe, forming a connectingedge 9 between the rear portion 4 of the shoe and the first sole 2.

This first sole 2 is turned up at the rear and forms the stiffening-6,sewn over its whole periphery and along its central axis to the rearportion 4.

As shown in FIG. 4, inside the shoe is arranged a support for holdingthe plantar arch. This support is formed by a domed half-disc 10 ofsponge rubber, covered with a skin 11 of small thickness, of leather orother porous material. The half-disc 10 is fixed by gluing to this skin11, whichis sewn over its periphery to the sole2.

The support has a thick straight edge 12 and a thinner arcuate edge 13.The edge 12 is adapted to be placedagainst the inner side of the edge ofthe shoe. This latter is reinforced externally by the first sole 2 whichrises slightly in the form of a wave at this point, while the edge 13extends towards the center and middle of the shoe while becomingthinner. The domed half-disc 10 thus forms a support which effectivelysustains the plantar arch of the childs foot.

According to an alternative form shown in FIG. 5, the shoe is providedwith a buckle l4 fixed at the extremity of one of the wings 7 of therear portion 4. When the rear portion 4 is swung back in order to closethe shoe, this buckle 14 receives a fixing strap 15 which extends fromthe second lateral wing 7.

According to another form of construction, to this shoe are fitted asecond sole 16 and a heel 17 (shown in broken lines in FIG. 5), ofrubber, crepe-rubber, plastic material or any other suitable material.

Ribs (not shown) are formed on the underside of the heel l7 and the sole16, so as to prevent slipping.

The rear extremity of the heel 13 has a vertical edge at right angles,while the front extremity forms a V, the arms of which open out towardsthe front and towards the sides of the shoe.

i at the rear of the shoe. This portion 4 is formed by two unequallateral wings, one of which terminates in a fixing strap 19 which isintended to be engaged in a false buckle 20. .This buckle 20 is arrangedon its internal face so as to co-operate with a press-stud 21 fixed forthat purpose in the other lateral wing 7.

The fixing strap 19 is adapted to pass beneath a metal hook 22 fixed onan added top portion 23 of the upper 3 and which holds the assembly ofthe wing 17 and fixing strap 19 in position.

It will of course be understood that alternative forms of constructionmay be added to the forms of embodiment which have just been describedwithout thereby departing from the scope of the present invention. Thus,there may be envisaged in particular, closure means for the assembly ofthe wings of the type known under the commercial name VELCRO or magneticclosures, etc.

What I claim is:

1. A shoe of the opening ype,.especially for children, characterized inthat its top portion is made in a single piece fixed to the sole, withthe exception of a rear portion which is adapted to swing towards therear by pivoting about the rear bottom extremity of the shoe, forming apivotal axis, said rear portion being provided with removable means ofretention on the front of the shoe, said rear portion comprising twolateral wings which are adapted to cover, at least in part, the facingedges of the front portion of the heel-piece.

2. A shoe as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that said rear portionis rigidly fixed to an extension of the sole at the rear of the shoe.

3. A shoe as. claimed in claim 1, characterized in that said lateralwings are provided with eyelets for closure by lacing.

4. A shoe as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the lateral wingscomprise an assembly and closure device of the buckle fixing strap type.

5. A shoe as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that one lateral wingis extended by a fixing strap which comprises a device for assembly tothe other wing of the press-stud type, while means for retaining saidwing are provided on the top portion of the shoe.

6. A shoe as claimed in claim 5, characterized in that said retainingmeans are constituted by a'metal hook, under which the fixing strap ispassed.

1. A shoe of the opening type, especially for children, characterized inthat its top portion is made in a single piece fixed to the sole, withthe exception of a rear portion which is adapted to swing towards therear by pivoting about the rear bottom extremity of the shoe, forming apivotal axis, said rear portion being provided with removable means ofretention on the front of the shoe, said rear portion comprising twolateral wings which are adapted to cover, at least in part, the facingedges of the front portion of the heel-piece.
 2. A shoe as claimed inclaim 1, characterized in that said rear portion is rigidly fixed to anextension of the sole at the rear of the shoe.
 3. A shoe as claimed inclaim 1, characterized in that said lateral wings are provided witheyelets for closure by lacing.
 4. A shoe as claimed in claim 1,characterized in that the lateral wings comprise an assembly and closuredevice of the buckle - fixing strap type.
 5. A shoe as claimed in claim1, characterized in that one lateral wing is extended by a fixing strapwhich comprises a device for assembly to the other wing of thepress-stud type, while means for retaining said wing are provided on thetop portion of the shoe.
 6. A shoe as claimed in claim 5, characterizedin that said retaining means are constituted by a metal hook, underwhich the fixing strap is passed.